A former presidential aspirant in Nigeria has expressed strong reservations about a recent United States military airstrike carried out on Nigerian territory, warning that such operations could place civilians at grave risk and weaken Nigeria’s sovereignty if not properly coordinated.
Adamu Garba, a Nigerian politician and former presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria’s ruling political party, raised the concerns in a public statement shared via the social media platform X on Sunday, December 28, 2025. Garba, who also serves as Director General of the Centre for African Progress and Development, said the airstrike contradicted the principles of cooperation he and others had consistently advocated.
Garba explained that he had long supported the idea of the United States assisting Nigeria in its fight against terrorism, but only under a framework that ensured Nigerian leadership of such operations. According to him, the strike conducted on Christmas Day failed to meet that expectation.
“We had openly advocated for US collaboration with Nigeria on the fight against terrorism, with the premise that the Nigerian military should take the lead, supported by US military. However, what happened on Christmas Day runs counter to our expectations,” he said.
Okay News reports that the strike allegedly involved the launch of a Tomahawk missile, a long-range cruise missile used by the United States military, which Garba said was deployed without visible coordination with Nigerian armed forces on the ground.
He criticised the apparent absence of Nigerian military personnel at the strike location, noting that proper joint operations should involve shared planning, execution, and post-strike assessment.
“What we witnessed is like the US unilaterally launched the missile, reducing Nigeria’s very capable military to a fire brigade expected to handle only the aftermath of the attack,” Garba said.
He further expressed concern that debris from the missile reportedly remained at the site of the strike for up to 48 hours without oversight from Nigerian military authorities. He also questioned the lack of detailed public communication from Nigeria’s defence institutions regarding the nature and scope of the collaboration.
“Prior to the launching of the Tomahawk missile, we should have seen Nigerian military personnel on the base coordinating with the US military before the launch,” he said.
“If not, how can one explain that the debris and some components of the missile remain on-site 48 hours after the attack without Nigerian military presence to evacuate and evaluate the situation? I also cannot pinpoint any strong information from the Nigerian military to the public on the joint coordination with the US on this particular attack,” he added.
Garba warned that allowing a foreign power to lead bombing campaigns on Nigerian soil could expose civilians to indiscriminate danger.
“If Nigeria did not take the lead in the coordination and routing of these bombing campaigns, then no Nigerian is safe in their houses, and there could be anytime, anywhere bombing in the name of fighting terrorists,” he warned.
Drawing comparisons with past United States military operations in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Libya, Garba argued that such interventions often worsen security situations rather than resolve them.
“The US did the same in Somalia, bombing the country from their offshore military bases for the past 30 years. Does this help stop terror in Somalia? Not at all; it further exacerbates terrorist operations in that country,” he said.
He also cautioned that militant groups operating across the Sahel region of Africa could respond by forming a united front against perceived external aggression.
“Another risk we might be mindful of is the threat of all the terrorist groups operating in the Sahel. ISWAP, ISGS, MLF, Boko Haram, JNIM, and Lakurawa could unite their forces and confront the ‘BIG EVIL,’ as they refer to the U.S., on Nigerian soil. Do you know what that will mean?” he said.
Garba called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to establish a formal operational framework for joint counterterrorism efforts, stressing that such a framework should receive approval from Nigeria’s National Assembly, the country’s legislative arm of government.
“Nigerian government needs to take the lead in this campaign. The US should kindly take a back seat and allow the Nigerian military to steer this operation, guiding the attack while properly respecting our human rights and sovereignty,” he said.
“Nigerian government and the US government should agree on a common operational framework governing the war on terror in Nigeria, to be discussed and deliberated in the National Assembly, gazetted, and implemented by the Nigerian security establishment,” he added.
He concluded by insisting that Nigeria must either lead all security operations within its territory or reject foreign military intervention entirely.
“Either Nigeria takes the lead, or the US should stay off our sovereign lands, air, and sea spaces completely,” he said.
Garba’s remarks followed a Christmas Day airstrike reportedly authorised and announced by United States President Donald Trump, the forty-fifth and forty-seventh President of the United States of America. The strike was said to have been carried out by a United States Navy warship positioned in the Gulf of Guinea, targeting two camps allegedly linked to the Islamic State in Sokoto State, a northwestern state in Nigeria.
Reports of missile debris scattered across farmland in the area have since raised questions about the level of Nigerian military involvement, despite official claims by Nigeria’s federal government that the operation was conducted through shared intelligence and collaboration.
